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Results of the IROCA international clinical audit in prostate cancer radiotherapy at six comprehensive cancer centres

Authors :
C. Pisani
M. Puigdemont
Joana Lencart
Maria Glòria Torras
Marta Kruszyna-Mochalska
Ewelina Konstanty
Ferran Guedea
Carles Muñoz-Montplet
Piotr Milecki
Diego Jurado-Bruggeman
Josep Jové
Marco Krengli
A. Boladeras
Julian Malicki
L. Aliste
Artur Aguiar
L. Carvalho
Salvador Villà
Carla Castro
Letizia Deantonio
Ignasi Modolell
Magdalena Fundowicz
Alvar Roselló
Source :
Scientific Reports, Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021), Dipòsit Digital de la UB, Universidad de Barcelona
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2021.

Abstract

To assess adherence to standard clinical practice for the diagnosis and treatment of patients undergoing prostate cancer (PCa) radiotherapy in four European countries using clinical audits as part of the international IROCA project. Multi-institutional, retrospective cohort study of 240 randomly-selected patients treated for PCa (n = 40/centre) in the year 2015 at six European hospitals. Clinical indicators applicable to general and PCa-specific radiotherapy processes were evaluated. All data were obtained directly from medical records. The audits were performed in the year 2017. Adherence to clinical protocols and practices was satisfactory, but with substantial inter-centre variability in numerous variables, as follows: staging MRI (range 27.5–87.5% of cases); presentation to multidisciplinary tumour board (2.5–100%); time elapsed between initial visit to the radiation oncology department and treatment initiation (42–102.5 days); number of treatment interruptions ≥ 1 day (7.5–97.5%). The most common deviation from standard clinical practice was inconsistent data registration, mainly failure to report data related to diagnosis, treatment, and/or adverse events. This clinical audit detected substantial inter-centre variability in adherence to standard clinical practice, most notably inconsistent record keeping. These findings confirm the value of performing clinical audits to detect deviations from standard clinical practices and procedures.

Details

ISSN :
20452322
Volume :
11
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Scientific Reports
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....b7f16c65b83a0f10993f1d758918aa11
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91723-0